The high-power, short-pulse array to be described is a radiating oscillator system which radiates high peak power pulses of radio frequency energy. This invention may be named from the word "catena" which means a chain, or series, especially a connected series.
In designing a system to radiate high peak power bursts of RF energy a limiting factor is that the transmitter is peak power limited. This invention overcomes this limitation by employing "N" transmitters where "N" is the number of elements of the antenna. Each element of the array is a "radiating transmitter" in that each element frequency of the loop is determined by a fixed-value capacitor and the inductance of the loop.
Important features of this invention are that the spark gaps are sequentially fired and are synchronously timed by a unique method. Upon proper firing of the spark gaps the energy in each loop is radiated.
The radiated waveform can be a single burst of RF or a train of RF bursts. The carrier frequency is determined by the inductance and capacity of the loop and the pulse repetition frequency is determined by the value of the charging resistors. The only required external circuitry or component is a DC high voltage power supply. If desired the catena array may also be charged with a pulse modulator if a DC high voltage supply is not available.
In devices or oscillators which contain many tuned circuits coupling between each of these tuned circuits will affect the output frequency and may result in multiple frequency outputs. A unique feature of this invention is that the output frequency is determined by the capacity and inductance of each loop only.
It is noted that the invention contains no moving parts, magnetic fields, vacuum, modulators, filament power supplies or X-ray shielding and will have a long shelf life. The array is simple to fabricate. It is low cost and lightweight. Its rugged construction will allow the device to be subject to extreme acceleration and shock without damage. The array is capable of broad applications including radar, beacons, air-sea rescue, missile and space-born illuminators and pulse jammers.